Updates: Complete the school census
2025
Updated the 'List of COLLECT queries and explanatory notes to help you complete the school census (ODS, 35KB)' in the section 'Adding explanation notes for queries'.
[Data items 2024 to 2025](/guidance/complete-the-school-census/changes-for-2024-to-2025)
Updated the spreadsheet showing all the information we ask for.
[Check your data](/guidance/complete-the-school-census/check-your-data)
Updated the 'List of COLLECT queries and explanatory notes to help you complete the school census (ODS, 35KB)' in the section 'Adding explanation notes for queries'.
Find a school census code: applicable from August 2024
[Find a school census code: applicable from August 2024](/guidance/complete-the-school-census/find-a-school-census-code-applicable-from-august-2024)
Removed the 'Pupil attendance codes (not for nursery schools) for use until August 2024' section.
Find a school census code: applicable from August 2024
Added 3 new code sets: Childcare places availability, Childcare opening/closing time and Childcare provider hours.
Updated the 'Free school meal eligibility [used for funding]', 'Early Years Pupil Premium [used for funding]' and 'Class information' sections.
2024
Updated the 'existing date items' section.
Updated the 'class information' section to reorder the table.
Updated the explanatory text in query 1872 to include 'a child arrangement order'.
Updated section 'Work placement entity [used for funding]' in 'Post-16 learning aims [used for funding]'.
Updated the learner funding and monitoring, attendance reason and ethnicity code sets for 2024 to 2025.
For the 2024 to 2025 academic year, schools are required to identify pupils that receive tutoring. Updated tutoring section to reflect this. From the Autumn 2024 term, reason codes must be recorded for inclusion in Spring 2025 census returns. Updated 鈥榯ermly attendance鈥� section to reflect this. Amended dates in the 'alternative provision placements' collection period. Updated information on pupils who are eligible in early years pupil premium section.
Find a school census code: applicable from August 2024
Ethnicity section: updated some main categories and sub-categories. Learner funding and monitoring section: updated 'in receipt of tutoring' code description.
Links updated to codes to use after August 2024.
Updated the 'List of COLLECT queries and explanatory notes to help you complete the school census (ODS, 32KB)' in the section 'Adding explanation notes for queries'.
Details of changes for 2023 to 2024 have been removed.
Data items from 2023 to 2024 have been removed.
Find a school census code: applicable from August 2024
This section no longer applies.
Find a school census code: applicable until August 2024
This section no longer applies.
Updates made to 'New data items', 'Existing data items', and 'Deleted data items' sections.
Find a school census code: applicable from August 2024
Amended codes WIRT, CHNE, CHKC, CMAL, CSNG, CTWN and COCH. Added new codes ABRI, AWEL, BBRI, BWEL and ORAB.
Updated the '16 to 19 funding reports - autumn 2024' section to reflect a change in the process for contacting ESFA and add further information about what 16 to 19 student detail reports show.
Amended the return date for the 2024 to 2025 autumn census.
Added data items to 'Deleted data items' section.
Updated the 'Learner funding and monitoring (FAM)' section.
Updated the table under 'Disability access fund indicator' section to change the fourth table row header from 'spring 2025' to 'autumn 2024'. Added '2-year-olds' to the opening paragraph of the 'Early years pupil premium' section.
Find a school census code: applicable until August 2024
We have updated the 鈥楶upil attendance codes鈥� table. The codes are applicable up to and including 18 August 2024.
Find a school census code: applicable from August 2024
We have updated the 鈥楶upil attendance codes鈥� table. The new codes are applicable from 19 August 2024.
Added the 2024 and 2025 census dates, and a link to the 'Data items 2024 to 2025' section.
Updated the 'Existing data items' section to explain that the early years pupil premium (EYPP) data item (N00639) has been extended to 2-year-olds for the summer 2024 census only.
Added a chapter listing the new, existing and deleted data items for 2024 to 2025.
Which schools and pupils to include
Removed references to children aged 2,3 or 4 from the 'Early years' section.
Added a new chapter with updated information for 2024 to 2025 in the following sections: 'School childcare', 'Recording children receiving FSM under the criteria for families with no NRPF', 'Pupil premium funding', 'School lunches taken', 'Funded entitlements hours', 'Eligibility code', 'Hours at setting', 'Disability access fund indicator', 'Early years pupil premium', 'Learner funding and monitoring', 'Part-time indicator', 'Alternative provision placements', 'Suspensions and permanent exclusions', 'Termly attendance' and 'Post-16 learning aims'.
Updated the 'Local authority funding reports guidance' and 'Pupil premium funding report guidance' sections for autumn 2024 and spring 2025, the '16 to 19 funding reports' section for autumn 2024, the 'Early years pupil premium funding report guidance' section for spring 2025, and the reference in the 'Incorrectly recorded study programme planned hours' section to the funding bands used for the 2022 to 2023 allocation.
Find a school census code: applicable from August 2024
Added a section listing new school census codes applicable from August 2024 for Down Syndrome, pupil attendance (not for nursery schools), and learner funding and monitoring (FAM).
Statutory requirement, data sharing and regulations
Updated to include additional regulations under which the submission of school census individual pupil records is a statutory requirement.
Updated the 'List of COLLECT queries and explanatory notes to help you complete the school census'.
Updated the spreadsheet showing all the information we ask for.
Updated the 'Disability access fund indicator' and 'Early years pupil premium' sections.
Updated the description of code G for pupil enrolment status.
Updated the 'Disability access fund indicator' and 'Early years pupil premium' sections.
Updated the sections on 'Before school childcare service' and 'After school childcare service '.
Added a new data item on expanded hours for the summer 2024 census. Added changes to 30 hour code, 2 year old basis for funding, EYPP and the disability access fund indicator data items for the summer 2024 census.
Updated the section on school time.
Which schools and pupils to include
Updated the early years section.
Updated the 'List of COLLECT queries and explanatory notes to help you complete the school census'.
2023
Update to the 'school time' section to make it clear that it is from the start of morning registration. Added a link to the funding guidance for young people 2023 to 2024 in the 'resit or retaking full or part academic year funding' section.
Updated the sections on COLLECT reports used for funding, early years pupil premium funding report guidance, local authority early years funding report guidance, pupil premium funding report guidance, local authority funding reports guidance and term-on-term checks.
Updated the sections on funded entitlement hours, 30-hour code indicator, hours at setting and 2 year old basis for funding.
Updated the section on traineeships.
Updated the list of COLLECT queries and explanatory notes to help you complete the school census.
Updated the 'Learner funding and monitoring' section.
Updated the 16 to 19 funding reports section.
'List of COLLECT queries and explanatory notes to help you complete the school census' has been updated with the 2023 to 2024 version in the 'Adding explanation notes for queries' section.
Updated the 'Learner funding and monitoring' section.
Updated the year in code 01 in the table of learner funding and monitoring (FAM) codes.
Removed the '2022 to 2023 census dates'.
Updated the 'Class information' and 'Resit or retaking full or part academic year funding' sections. Also updated the links to the interactive post-16 school census tool and find a learning aim.
Removed this section as the 2022 to 2023 census has closed.
Updated the sections on free school meals taken and T Level programmes.
Updated the section on school time.
Added the 2023 to 2024 census dates.
Updated with the changes for the 2023 to 2024 school census.
Which schools and pupils to include
Updated the information on alternative provision.
New section added.
Updated the section on 'Member of SEN unit'.
Updated the information for the ethnicity codes: BEUR, CHNE, CHKC, CMAL, CSNG, CTWN and COCH.
Updated the 'Early years pupil premium' data item.
Updated the 'Early years pupil premium' and 'Free school meal eligibility' sections.
Updated the information for code 'x' in pupil attendance codes.
Updated the sections on school time and alternative provision placement Companies House company number.
Updated the section on 'Pupils eligible for the 2023 to 2024 early years pupil premium'.
Updated the language codes to explain that believed to be English, English, information not obtained, believed to be other than English, other than English and refused can be used by schools that have no need to use individual language codes.
Updated the information on the 'Young carer indicator'.
Updated the list of COLLECT queries and explanatory notes to help you complete the school census.
Updated the section on alternative provision placement type of setting.
2022
Updated the selected time table in the class information section.
Updated the list of COLLECT queries and explanatory notes to help you complete the school census.
Updated the early years pupil premium funding report guidance for spring 2023.
Updated local authority funding reports guidance for autumn 2022 an local authority early years funding report guidance for spring 2023. Added '% Pupils with post looked after arrangements (PLAA) (all terms)' to the list of term on term checks. Also added pupil premium funding report guidance for autumn 2022 and spring 2023.
Added information about the changes to the existing learner funding and monitoring (FAM) data item.
Updated the list of COLLECT queries and explanatory notes to help you complete the school census.
Updated the National Tutoring Programme section.
Removed the 2021 to 2022 census dates.
Updated the sections on 'Learner funding and monitoring' and 'Alternative provision module for single-registered pupils'.
Updated information on post looked after arrangements and early years pupil premium.
Updated the information about post looked after arrangements, school led tutoring and funding and monitoring (FAM) hours.
Updated the information about post looked after arrangements.
Updated the spreadsheet of all the information we ask for.
Added the 2022 to 2023 census dates. Deleted the section on unusual circumstances - coronavirus (COVID-19).
Added the change in free school meal eligibility from the start of the summer term.
New section added.
New section added.
Generate and submit your return
Added information about COLLECT familiarisation.
Updated the post looked after arrangements school census codes.
Statutory requirement, data sharing and regulations
Updated the 'Legal duties under the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018: data security' section and removed the section on regulations.
Updated the sections on 'school led tutoring', '16 to 19 tuition fund', 'funding and monitoring (FAM) hours' and 'recording children receiving free school meals under the criteria for families with no recourse to public funds (NRPF)'.
Added a line to the school led tutoring section to confirm that reception and post 16 pupils are not eligible for this funding.
Updated the unusual circumstances section and added a section on selected time for the spring census.
Updated the alternative provision (AP) placements section to add clarity to the requirements.
Updated the list of COLLECT queries and explanatory notes to help you complete the school census.
2021
Updated the pupil premium funding report guidance for spring 2022.
Changes from previous school census
Added 'Early years entitlements date of birth range' and 'EYPP and DAF indicator date of birth range' to the changes in existing data items.
Updated the tables which shows the pupils you need to return early years pupil premium data and disability access fund indicator for. Also updated the information on post 16 overseas students and the collection periods for alternative provision placements.
Updated early years pupil premium funding report guidance and local authority early years funding report guidance for spring 2022.
Updated the data item for funded universal entitlement hours.
Updated list of COLLECT queries and explanatory notes to help you complete the school census.
Updated the list of COLLECT queries and explanatory notes to help you complete the school census.
Updates to 16 to 19 funding reports including adding information on recording T Levels correctly. Added learner funding and monitoring to the COLLECT reports used for funding. Updated the local authority early years funding report guidance, the pupil premium funding report guidance and the local authority funding reports guidance for autumn 2021. Updated the pupil premium funding report guidance and the local authority early years funding report guidance for spring 2022.
Updated the learner funding and monitoring section and information on QN codes for T Level and T Level transition programmes.
Removed the 2020 to 2021 census dates following the closure of the summer census.
Changes from previous school census
Added 'learner funding and monitoring (FAM) type', 'learner funding and monitoring (FAM) code' and 'learner funding and monitoring (FAM) hours' to the new data items section.
Which schools and pupils to include
Added 'any additional pupils who were recorded as in receipt of learner funding and monitoring since the start of the academic year' to the list of which pupils are in scope. This is not applicable to nursery schools.
Updated the spreadsheet of all the information we ask for. Added a new section on learner funding and monitoring.
Generate and submit your return
Added 'have been in receipt of learner funding and monitoring since the start of the current academic year' to the list of pupils to be included. This is not required from nursery schools.
Removed references to autumn 2020.
Added learner funding and monitoring (FAM) codes.
Removed the guidance for the 2020 to 2021 school census following the closure of the summer census.
Changes from previous school census
Updates to the exclusions module in the existing data items section.
Updated the suspensions and permanent exclusions module and the spreadsheet of all the information we ask for.
Removed code EXPU and EXP. Added code PEX for alternative provision reason.
Updated list of COLLECT queries and explanatory notes to help you complete the school census.
Added information about funded universal hours, extended funded hours and hours at setting to the unusual circumstances section.
Updated list of COLLECT queries and explanatory notes to help you complete the school census.
Added the 2021 to 2022 census dates and updated the unusual circumstances.
Changes from previous school census
Listed all the changes to the school census for the 2020 to 2021 academic year.
Which schools and pupils to include
Added 'any additional pupils who had an alternative provision (AP) placement within the collection period (since the last census day) - voluntary from spring census 2022' to which pupils are in scope.
New section added.
Generate and submit your return
Added information about pupils no longer on roll who have been in an alternative provision placement.
Added new code sets for alternative provision reason (PRU and AP only) and alternative provision placement reason. Added new codes for pupil exclusion category, ethnicity, and class activity.
Updated the unusual circumstances section.
Which schools and pupils to include
New section added.
Added links to the unusual circumstances information in the class information, free school meals taken, school childcare, school lunches taken, funded entitlement hours, hours at setting and unit contact time data items. New information on stretched funded universal or extended entitlement added.
Added local authority early years funding report, early years pupil premium funding report and pupil premium funding report guidance for spring 2021 and removed the guidance for spring 2020.
Updated list of COLLECT queries and explanatory notes to help you complete the school census.
2020
Updated the unusual circumstances section.
Updates to the post-16 student data section.
Updated information about school lunches taken and added information about recording children receiving free school meals as part of the temporary NRPF extension.
Updated the section on 16 to 19 funding reports for autumn 2020. Added a new list of COLLECT queries and explanatory notes to help you complete the school census.
Changes from previous school census
Added 'Total number of sessions not attending in circumstances relating to coronavirus (COVID-19)' to the new data items section. Added 'Additional exclusion reason added' to the changes to the existing data items section.
Updated the exclusion reason section to add an additional reason of 鈥榳ilful and repeated transgression of protective measures in place to protect public health鈥�. Added 'sessions not attending in circumstances in relation to coronavirus (COVID-19)' to the termly attendance section.
Added 'PH' to the pupil exclusion reason (not for nursery schools) 2020 to 2021 academic year codes which are valid for exclusions with a start date on or after 1 August 2020. Updated description for code 'x' in pupil attendance codes (not for nursery schools) 2020 to 2021 academic year which are valid for use from 1 August 2020.
Updated local authority funding reports guidance.
Added the 2020 to 2021 school census dates.
Changes from previous school census
Added changes for the 2020 to 2021 school census this includes changes that apply to autumn 2020 only.
Updated list of the data items you need to send us for the 2020 to 2021 census.
Updated for 2020 to 2021 and added information on sessions attending an approved educational activity, sessions missed due to an exceptional circumstance, T Level planned learning hours and planned employability, enrichment and pastoral hours, programme aim, programme type and work placement entity data items.
Updated pupil exclusion reason and pupil attendance codes for 2020 to 2021.
Updated list of COLLECT queries and explanatory notes to help you complete the school census.
Added 'Number of fixed term exclusions for the same reporting period' and 'Number of permanent exclusions for the same reporting period' to the list of term-on-term checks built into COLLECT.
Added information about updating your school management information system (MIS) with current data.
Added guidance on the local authority early years funding report, early years pupil premium funding report and pupil premium funding report for the spring census.
Updated list of COLLECT queries and explanatory notes.
2019
Changes from previous school census
Removed exclusion review date and result, exclusion reinstatement date and SEN expert requested. We have postponed the collection of these items.
Removed exclusion review date and result, exclusion reinstatement date and SEN expert requested from spring and summer. We have postponed the collection of these items.
Removed exclusion review date and result, exclusion reinstatement date and SEN expert requested from spring and summer. We have postponed the collection of these items.
New section added.
Added guidance on the data items you need to submit in each census. This section now covers autumn, spring and summer.
Added updated list of COLLECT queries and explanatory notes to help you complete the school census to the 'Adding explanation notes for queries' section.
Added information about 16 to 19 funding reports and updated list of notepad entries.
Changes from previous school census
Added more information about the new data items.
Updated duplicate report guidance.
Added information on the process schools should follow when unusual circumstances affect census day.
Updated 'list of COLLECT queries and explanatory notes to help you complete the school census' to the 2019 to 2020 version.
Statutory requirement, data sharing and regulations
New section added.
New section added.
Changes from previous school census
New section added.
New section added.
New section added.
New section added.
New section added.